If I Could Only Buy and Hold a Single Stock, This Would Be It.

• Whereas Netflix, Amazon, and Nvidia have delivered spectacular returns, they lack the diversification wanted for a single-stock portfolio.

• Berkshire Hathaway operates like an expertly curated ETF, proudly owning 68 distinct firms plus stakes in practically 40 public firms.

• Regardless of not proudly owning Berkshire myself, I acknowledge it because the most secure alternative for traders looking for a single long-term holding.

• 10 shares we like higher than Berkshire Hathaway ›

Let’s make this clear from the beginning: I’d by no means advocate proudly owning only one inventory for the lengthy haul.

A correct nest egg wants some selection, both in a rigorously assembled basket of various shares or targeted on a broad market-tracking exchange-traded fund (ETF). For the sake of argument, nonetheless, I might think about shopping for some Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) (NYSE: BRK.B) inventory and simply letting it roll.

I do know, I do know. You needed me to double down on Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), whose inventory has completely crushed the overall market in the long term. Or I might have picked Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), the media-streaming pioneer that is created most of my wealth thus far and which may be part of the trillion-dollar market cap membership in a number of years. Maybe you anticipated Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), with its unmatched five-year returns and big long-term future within the synthetic intelligence (AI) trade.

These shares positive tick a number of of the proper containers, however none of them are as naturally diversified as Berkshire Hathaway. That is actually what I am searching for in a “single inventory for all ages.”

I personal all three of the recommended Berkshire options above, by the way in which.

Netflix was an early identify in my portfolio, impressed by fellow Idiot Rick Munarriz’s in-depth evaluation of the corporate within the mid-2000s. When Netflix went by the Qwikster-branded separation of DVD and streaming companies, I doubled down on my funding at a implausible worth. That individual Netflix stake has gained 10,350% in lower than 14 years.

However that is simply my favourite play on the way forward for digital media companies. I’d by no means dare to make Netflix my solely holding, simply in case any person builds a greater media-streaming mousetrap.

I want I had pounced on Amazon a lot earlier, like Motley Idiot co-founders Tom and David Gardner did. However I dragged my ft, and watched the web bookstore turn into an e-commerce buffet with a extremely worthwhile facet of cloud computing companies. My oldest Amazon funding is simply up by 430% since January 2017.

Nonetheless, Amazon solely operates in a few enterprise sectors. The corporate (and inventory) may very well be susceptible to a sudden sea change in cloud computing, presumably led by Microsoft‘s (NASDAQ: MSFT) Home windows Azure. And the way effectively would Amazon’s dominant e-commerce enterprise carry out if international rivals corresponding to Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) or MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) discovered some traction within the American market? Amazon isn’t a one-trick pony, however the firm ought to choose up a number of extra abilities earlier than coming into this single-stock dialogue.

I am particularly apprehensive about Nvidia’s long-term tenacity. The early chief in AI accelerator {hardware} might very effectively run right into a superior different within the subsequent few years. The chance solely grows bigger in case you stretch the timeline out over many years.

Rivals like Superior Micro Units (NASDAQ: AMD) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) management tiny slices of the AI chip alternative thus far, however that might change. The following market-defining AI winner may very well be some upstart I have not heard of but. Furthermore, main cloud computing specialists corresponding to Microsoft and Amazon already design AI accelerators of their very own, hoping to fulfill their precise wants at a decrease value.

Nvidia’s large development spurt may need a number of years left in it. I am simply not satisfied that the inventory will proceed to rise after that. My largest Nvidia buy has posted a 780% achieve since June 2022, however I cashed in on these paper positive factors and offered most of my Nvidia shares earlier this yr. This pony must study a number of extra methods, too.

So range units Berkshire other than the most important success tales of this period.

Certain, Warren Buffett’s stock-picking and wealth administration experience deserves tons of respect. However he’s also called an amazing mentor, and plenty of of Berkshire’s top-performing picks lately have been added by Buffett’s lieutenants. I count on the corporate to proceed doing effectively when the Oracle of Omaha retires on the finish of 2025.

The inventory is sort of like a rigorously curated ETF. Berkshire Hathaway owns and operates 68 distinct firms as of late. The names vary from GEICO automobile insurance coverage and Duracell batteries to Enterprise Wire info companies and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad. Berkshire dabbles in e-commerce (Oriental Buying and selling Firm) and clothes (Fruit of the Loom), to not point out residence development (Clayton Houses) and quick meals (Dairy Queen). This enterprise listing is nearly as various because the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) market index.

And that is simply Berkshire’s in-house manufacturers. The corporate additionally owns inventory in about 40 public firms. The most important investments embrace a $60.7 billion stake in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), a $45.1 billion place in American Categorical (NYSE: AXP), and a $28.5 billion holding of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO). That is client electronics, monetary companies, and beverage distribution. Apple’s gigantic presence could look dangerous, however the hazard seems smaller once you additionally contemplate Berkshire’s epic assortment of absolutely owned companies.

Do you see a theme right here? I do, however it’s not a single trade. Berkshire is all about range, shielding the corporate and its traders in opposition to the short-term ups and downs in anybody explicit trade.

I do not really personal any Berkshire Hathaway inventory but. I get my portfolio diversification kicks in different methods, with a number of dozen hand-picked shares and a few broad index funds serving this objective. That is arguably a mistake, since Berkshire’s inventory tends to outperform the S&P 500 in the long term, and I am unable to compete with the Buffett workforce’s stock-picking talent.

So in case you’re beginning a brand new portfolio in the present day, or simply searching for an alternative choice to the widespread S&P 500 index funds, you must give Berkshire Hathaway a critical look. It is positively a safer long-term wager than Nvidia, Netflix, and even Amazon.

Before you purchase inventory in Berkshire Hathaway, contemplate this:

The Motley Idiot Inventory Advisor analyst workforce simply recognized what they consider are the 10 finest shares for traders to purchase now… and Berkshire Hathaway wasn’t one in every of them. The ten shares that made the lower might produce monster returns within the coming years.

Think about when Netflix made this listing on December 17, 2004… in case you invested $1,000 on the time of our advice, you’d have $669,517!* Or when Nvidia made this listing on April 15, 2005… in case you invested $1,000 on the time of our advice, you’d have $868,615!*

Now, it’s price noting Inventory Advisor’s whole common return is 792% — a market-crushing outperformance in comparison with 171% for the S&P 500. Don’t miss out on the newest high 10 listing, accessible once you be part of Inventory Advisor.

See the ten shares »

*Inventory Advisor returns as of June 2, 2025

John Mackey, former CEO of Complete Meals Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Idiot’s board of administrators. American Categorical is an promoting companion of Motley Idiot Cash. Anders Bylund has positions in Alibaba Group, Amazon, Intel, Netflix, and Nvidia. The Motley Idiot has positions in and recommends Superior Micro Units, Amazon, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Intel, MercadoLibre, Microsoft, Netflix, and Nvidia. The Motley Idiot recommends Alibaba Group and recommends the next choices: lengthy January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft, quick August 2025 $24 calls on Intel, and quick January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Idiot has a disclosure coverage.

If I May Solely Purchase and Maintain a Single Inventory, This Would Be It. was initially printed by The Motley Idiot